Microsoft Advertising has launched a new video ad offering called Video and Connected TV (CTV) ads.

You can use this feature to create online video and CTV ad campaigns right within the Microsoft Advertising platform.

The new product offers “a special reach across large-scale properties” to help ensure your ad is served to your target audience.

Why we care. The Video and Connected TV (CTV) feature expands ad-serving possibilities while leveraging audience intelligence to target high-value customers, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Getting started. There are no set-up fees, no long onboarding processes, and campaigns are simple to optimize.

To get started, simply upload your video assets that best represent your brand, decide who you want to show your ads to then choose how often people should see your video ads across multiple devices. This can all be done in just a few clicks.

How it works. Microsoft’s audience intelligence goes well beyond just search intent. It’s a collection of authorized first-party data from various sources, all working together to connect you with your target audience.

Microsoft then applies machine learning algorithms to create audiences founded on consumer product and brand preferences, purchase history, content preferences, and geographical location. This approach is designed to improve targeted ads to help advertisers reach your best audiences.

Where are Video and Connected TV (CTV) ads served? Video and Connected TV (CTV) ads are served across Microsoft’s sites, publisher partners and on connected TV in the US:

• Microsoft Start
• MSN
• CNN
• Hulu
• The Washing Post
• The Wall Street Journal
• People
• and many more

More publishers are expected to be announced soon as the product is rolled out to markets outside of the US.

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What has Microsoft said? Product Marketing Manager at Microsoft Advertising, Liam Mackessy, told Search Engine Land:

• “This product has been designed for ease of use. You can get started in just a few clicks, there are no long onboarding processes, no set-up fees, and it’s simple to optimise.
• “We’re making CTV advertising, which typically can be a little bit more complex to buy, more accessible to a lot more advertisers on the Microsoft Advertising platform.”
• “However, we still provide control and flexibility to advertisers – they can set their own frequency caps so that they can accurately plan budgets and campaigns accordingly.”
• “We also have the usual domain reporting and domain exclusions to help advertisers keep track of where their ads are serving so that they can decide which sites they may not want their ads to be served on.”

Deep dive. Read the Microsoft Advertising Blog for more information.